Fancy Free
by Wolfram-and-Hart-Sauron
Summary: Written for the Tangled Fic Exchange. Eugene won't admit it, but he gets a bit homesick for the road.


Title: Fancy Free  
Summary: Eugene won't admit it, but he gets a bit homesick for the road.  
Rating: K+  
Word Count: 1,271  
Warnings: One mention of sex.  
Author's Notes: This is a POV fic. Regular text is Flynn talking and **bold text** is someone else talking. Hopefully, this meets expectations.

Hey folks! It's been a while. Seems like only yesterday we first met. You were sitting there on the edge of your seats and I was telling you the epic story of how I died and rescued a lovely, if somewhat crazy, princess.

Well, me and Rapunzel are still together, like I said last time. Still getting used to being royalty, still living in the castle. I always wanted my own castle on an island surrounded by luxury and money and now I have it. OK, _technically_, it's my girlfriend's parents' castle on an island. Just, just... _nuance_, OK? Let's move on.

The thing is, I never imagined in a _million years_ that once I got all that stuff, I'd want to leave.

I think it all started a few weeks ago when Rapunzel asked me to tell her a story of one of my heists as a thief. I picked a good one, the Moore heist. I stole a ruby necklace off Countess Moore of Gilder. Literally, I was in disguise and I took it off her while we were dancing at her summer ball. I was almost out of the mansion when I heard her scream and send her guards after me. I thought I was dead, but I escaped by jumping in the river. Of course the giant waterfall turned out to be a problem, but that's a story for another day.

As I lay in bed that night, I couldn't stop thinking about the heist. I just stared at the ceiling and replayed the events of that day over and over in my head. I eventually lifted my left arm and saw a scar just above my elbow. One of the countess's guards' arrows hit me before I made it to the river. Man that hurt like hell. But it wasn't the pain that filled my mind, it was everything else. I remembered the thrill I felt taking that necklace off her, the excitement of evading the guards, the triumph of getting away with the treasure. It was such a high. It was better than sex.

I didn't get much sleep that night, but it was just the beginning. I started day dreaming about the old days a lot, especially during me and Blondie's etiquette lessons. One minute, a pencil necked old guy is telling me the proper way to address public officials, the next, I was hiding in a farmer's wagon clutching a bag of cash and a sack of food from a store I just robbed.

Every night as I was getting ready for bed, I looked in the mirror at my fairly sizable collection of scars. It brought back so many memories. Cut on my right shoulder; April 16, last year, fell through a window as I stole a set of diamond brooches in Florin. Bite on my left calf; December 5, three years ago, guard dog got lucky before I made off with a chest of jewels in Maldonia. Crooked middle toe on my left foot; New Year's Eve, eight years ago, broke that toe taking a crate off a merchant ship.

And... well, OK, there were some that reminded me of my less successful jobs. Scrape on my shin; June 19, six years ago, fell off a roof of Duke Muntz's treasury. Nine inch cut on my chest; February 4, ten years ago, tried and failed to swindle Sykes. Faded burn on my right hand; my tenth birthday, trying to grab a cupcake from an oven while the baker's back was turned.

Well, you may be noticing a pattern. I never stayed in one place very long. I may've been born in Corona, but I've been just about everywhere there is to go in this part of the continent. I never gave much thought to where to go next, just... kinda drifted until I found a place where an enterprising gentleman could make a less than honest living.

Admittedly, I don't miss sleeping in ditches, going days without food and the threat of death constantly hanging over my head. I'd have to get hit a couple dozen more times with Blondie's frying pan before that happens. Hell, I don't even miss thieving really. Well... maybe a little, but that's beside the point. The thing is... sometimes I kinda miss the road. I miss the freedom to go wherever I want. I miss not having to put on airs to fit in with high society. I miss being Flynn Rider.

You know, sometimes I idly wonder what it would be like if I was still Flynn Rider, out there running around wherever the wind takes me.

And then another image comes to mind. An image that still haunts my nightmares.

I see an old tower in a hidden valley. Inside is an old woman with blonde hair so long that it takes up most of the tower's interior and hangs out the window all the way to the ground. She's a shell of a person, like a flower kept in the dark until it's withered. She's never felt grass beneath her feet. She's never seen another human being besides her "mother." Her only friend was a chameleon named Pascal, but he passed away long ago. By now, the king and queen of the nearby kingdom are long gone and the lanterns stopped appearing on her birthday years ago. All she has, all she knows is her tower and her "mother." Standing next to her is a young woman with curly black hair, smiling in satisfaction as she looks forward to a long, _long_ life.

As soon as I picture that in my mind, it's like Gothel stabbing me again.

I may miss the road, but not enough to give her up for it.

I can't figure out why this started. Maybe I just got hit by a big wave of nostalgia. Maybe I'm having a midlife crisis.

Or maybe I'm having second thoughts from the weight around my neck. How can something so small feel like I'm carrying around the weight of the world? It's such a huge deal and there's no going back on it. And what if I screw up? What if...

**Eugene!**

AH! Oh, _hiiii_, Rapunzel, just talking to our friends here.

**Hey, everyone! Sorry to interrupt whatever you were talking about, but we gotta get ready for dinner. **

What? But that's not until... Wow, I lost track of time!

**Yeah, you better get ready! We're going to start planning our trip.**

Trip? What trip?

**There's a festival in Paris next week that my parents always go to, and they want us to come!**

Really?

**Yeah! It's gonna be so great! Have you ever been to Paris?**

Uh, yeah, I went there once. Great town. Hopefully, it'll be better now that crazy judge is gone.

**Crazy judge?**

Long story. Not important.

**This is so great! I love that we can travel to places together! **

Ah, go on, Princess. Can't handle an adventure without Flynn Rider as your guide/hostage?

**I could so, but it's not as much fun when you don't have someone to share the adventure with. **

Huh... Got a point there, Blondie.

**Well, anyway, we gotta go get ready!**

Yeah, uh, you go ahead, Goldie, I'll just say goodbye to our pals here.

**OK! Goodbye everybody! See you at dinner, Eugene!**

Heh heh...

Ya know what? Forget I said anything. Just chalk it up to temporary insanity and cold feet from a lovesick ex-thief. I gotta get ready to go to Paris. Hmm, the City of Love. The perfect place to... Well, never mind, it's not important!

Gotta go! Bye!

The End


End file.
